Multiple size drawer divider construction



Sept. 26, 1967 P. M. BEREND MULTIPLE SIZE DRAWERDIVIDER CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed June 30, 1966 INVENTOR. PTER M. BEREND BY v 1 7 ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1967 P. M. BEREND 3,343,706

MULTIPLE SIZE DRAWER DIVIDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 30, 1966 I 5 SheetS-Sheet 2 INVENTOR PETER M. BEREND ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1967 P. M. BEREND 3,343,706

MULTIPLE SIZE DRAWER DIVIDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 30, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i 33 n .//o

5 FIG. 7 I0 if mm; f: m I? zo 2I ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,343,706 MULTIPLE SIZE DRAWER DIVIDER CONSTRUCTION Peter M. Berend, Wooster, Ohio, assignor to Rubbermaid Incorporated, Wooster, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed June 30, 1966, Ser. No. 561,801 4 Claims. (Ci. 22023.4)

This invention relates generally to means for forming divisions within a conventional drawer, and more particularly to improved multiple size drawer compartments for forming a variety of arrangements within a drawer to suit the needs and desires of various users.

Cupboard and cabinet drawers are usually built in standard sizes, and although an occasional drawer may be provided with partitions, it is impossible to anticipate the needs of various persons, particularly in respect to drawers for containing an assortment of sizes and shapes of articles, such as a variety of kitchen utensils or hardware comprising nuts, screws, screw drivers, pliers, wrenches and other tools.

The result is that each individual wants to partition or divide up drawers in a particular manner to suit his individual needs, and it is an object of the present invention to provide novel drawer divider compartments in multiple sizes which can be easily put together to satisfy a wide variety of requirements.

While multiple containers have been proposed, certain of such containers have required lip flanges of diflerent sizes on opposite edges, so that the larger flange of one container would fit over the smaller flange of another, and in order that different size containers could be assembled, with the side of a longer container connected to the end of one or more shorter containers, it was necessary to split apart the corners so that the side flange on the larger container could fit over the end walls and pass through the side walls of smaller containers connected thereto. Such a construction is disclosed in the prior patent to Saint No. 1,588,271. Obviously, such splitting at the corners weakens the containers.

Accordingly, it is another object to provide multiple size drawer divider compartments adapted to be interlocked side to side or side to end without requiring splitting of the corners.

A further object is to provide multiple size drawer divider compartments which require connecting flanges on one side only, and which are adapted for nesting for shipment and handling.

A still further object is to provide multiple size drawer divider compartments having novel means for connecting an end wall of one compartment to a side flange of another and preventing relative lateral movement of said one compartment without requiring lateral connection with other compartments.

These and other objects are accomplished by the improvements comprising the present invention, which are illustrated in the drawings hereof, and described in detail in the specification. Various modifications and changes in details of construction are comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one of the improved compartments one unit wide and three units long.

FIG. 1A is a similar view showing an alternate form of slots.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of FIG. 1, showing in chain lines how the compartments nest.

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing three such compartments connected together at their side edges.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of another compartment one unit wide and five units long.

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FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another compartment two units wide and three units long.

FIG. 6 is a plan view on a reduced scale showing the three compartments of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 connected together in one arrangement.

FIG. 7 is a similar plan view showing three of the compartments of FIG. 1 connected to one compartment of FIG. 4 and one of FIG. 5 in another arrangement.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the three compartments of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 connected together in an arrangement different from FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing one compartment of FIG. 1, two compartments of FIG. 4 and two compartments of FIG. 5 connected together in a still dilferent arrangement.

While three different multiple sizes of compartments are illustrated, it will be understood that additional multiple sizes may be provided within the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the divider compartment indicated as a whole at 10 is rectangular, and has a length three times its width, so that it may be described as one unit wide and three units long. The two side walls 11 and the two end walls 12 are upwardly outwardly tapered so that like compartments 10, 10 and 10 can be nested as shown in FIG. 2 for handling and shipment.

On one side of the compartment 10 the top edge is provided with a downwardly curved lip flange 13, which is divided by notches 14 into three equal flange portions 13', each slightly less than one unit of length. The ends of flange 13 are preferably also notched or cut away at 15 for a purpose to be described. As shown 'in FIG. 3, the flange 13 is adapted to fit over the opposite side edge 16 of an adjoining like compartment 16 to interlock the containers in side-by-side relation with their bottom walls 17 in the same horizontal plane.

The alternate form of notches 14a shown in FIG. 1A differs from notches 14 only in that notch 14a extends only part way through the lip flange 13.

The compartment indicated as a whole at 20 in FIG. 4 is one unit in width and five units long, having tapered side walls 21 and tapered end walls 22 on the same taper as the side walls 11 and end walls 12 of compartment 10. A downwardly curved flange 23 is provided along one side edge, having notches 24 dividing the finage 23 into five equal portions 23', and having end notches 25.

The compartment indicated as a whole at 30 in FIG. 5 is two units wide and three units long, having tapered side walls 31 and tapered end walls 32 on the same taper as side walls 11 and 21 of compartments 10 and 20 and end walls 12 and 22 of compartments 10 and 20, respectively. A downwardly curved flange 33 is provided along one side edge of compartment 30, having notches 34 dividing the flange 33 into three equal flange portions 33', and having end notches 35.

As shown, the flange portions 13', 23 and 33' are all of equal length and slightly less than one unit in length, and the notches 14, 24 and 34 are preferably aproximately twice the width of end notches 15, 25 and 35, respectively.

In the arrangement of FIG. 6, utilizing one each of compartments 10, 20 and 30, two flange portions 13 of compartment 10 engage over an end wall of compartment 30, one flange portion 23 of compartment 10 engages over an end wall 12 of compartment 10, and three flange portions 23' of compartment 20 engage over the side wall 31 opposite flange portions 33' of compartment 30.

It will be observed that one of the notches 24 spans or bridges over the connected walls of compartments 10 and 30 at the adjacent end notch 15 of flange 13, and the next adjacent notch 24 to the left bridges over the opposite side wall 11. Thus, it is unnecessary to split the compartment walls at the corners to allow the extended downturned flange of an interlocking compartment to pass therethrough.

Obviously, arrangements of the three compartments 10, 20 and 30 other than that shown in FIG. 6 may be made within drawers of various sizes and shapes because the flange portions 13', 23' and 33' will always match up with unit lengths or multiples thereof. In FIG. 7 three compartments are connected with one compartment and one compartment 30, and still another compartment 20 is indicated in chain lines. In any arrangement, the notches in the flanges span over the edges of connected compartments at right angles to said flanges and the adjacent flange portions extend downwardly over the parallel edges. Accordingly, the downwardly extending edges of the notches permit only slight relative lateral movement of the connected compartment before abutting the perpendicular wall or Walls thereof at the corners.

Thus, arrangements can be made as in FIGS. 8 and 9 in which spaces are not occupied by compartments and one or more of the compartments are connected to flanges only at their end walls, and yet are restrained from lateral movement by the edges of the notches engaging their corners. In FIG. 8 the compartments 10 and 30- are connected only at their ends to flanges 23 but the walls of notches 24 and 25 extend down into the corners for engaging the side walls of compartments 10 and to prevent any material relative lateral movement thereof.

Similarly, in FIG. 9, relative lateral movement of the compartments 10a and 30a, which are connected together at their side edges, is prevented by the walls of notches 24 and 25 at one end 34 and 35 at the other end.

It will be seen that a simple but extremely flexible multiple size drawer divider construction has been provided which lends itself readily to a great variety of arrangements for drawers of different sizes and shapes, and the notched interlocking flange portions of slightly under unit length permit interlocking engagement with end walls only of laterally spaced compartments while preventing relative lateral movement thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. Multiple size drawer divider compartments each being at least one unit wide and at least two units lOng and having notched downturned flanges on one side edge only for engaging over unflanged edges or like units, said notches dividing said flanges into equal portions each slightly less than one unit in length, and said notches on one compartment being adapted to'span the edges of another like compartment at right angles to said one compartment when one or more of said flange portions engages over the adjacent parallel edge of said other compartment.

2. Multiple size drawer divider compartments as defined in claim 1 in which the downturned flanges have notches at their ends terminating said flanges short of the compartment corners.

3. Multiple size drawer divider compartments as defined in claim 1 in which the side and end Walls of the compartments are upwardly outwardly tapered for nesting one compartment within another.

4. Multiple size drawer divider compartment as defined in claim 2 in which the side and end walls of the compartments are upwardly outwardly tapered for nesting one compartment within another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 768,364 8/1904 Hines 312-111 1,588,271 6/1926 Saint et al. 220-23.2 3,297,196 1/1967 Cornelius 22023.4

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,343,706 September 26, I967 Peter M. Berend It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, line 32, after "at one end" insert and column 4, line 8, for "or like" read of like line 23, for "compartment" read compartments Signed and sealed this 12th day of November 1968.

SEAL) \ttest:

Idward M. Fletcher, Jr. EDWARD J. BRENNER ittesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. MULTIPLE SIZE DRAWER DIVIDER COMPARTMENTS EACH BEING AT LEAST ONE UNIT WIDE AND AT LEAST TWO UNITS LONG AND HAVING NOTCHED DOWNTURNED FLANGES ON ONE SIDE EDGE ONLY FOR ENGAGING OVER UNFLANGED EDGES OR LIKE UNITS, SAID NOTCHES DIVIDING SAID FLANGES INTO EQUAL PORTIONS EACH SLIGHTLY LESS THANONE UNIT IN LENGTH, AND SAID NOTCHES ON ONE COMPARTMENT BEING ADAPTED TO SPAN THE EDGES OF ANOTHER LIKE COMPARTMENT AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID ONE COMPARTMENT WHEN ONE OR MORE OF SAID FLANGE PORTIONS ENGAGES OVER THE ADJACENT PARALLEL EDGE OF SAID OTHER COMPARTMENT. 